In dictation recording and transcribing equipment it is desirable to alert both the dictator and the transcriber to various states of machine operation and parameters of dictation segments.
In dictation equipment using discrete record members, such as tape cassettes, it is desirable not only to provide information to the transcriber as to the mode in which a transcribe unit is operating, but also to provide a visual display denoting the end points of dictation segments and the location of certain instructions which have been recorded on the tape. It is known in the art to provide mechanical counters on dictation units which are coupled to a tape transport in order to indicate the amount of tape in a particular cassette which has been transcribed. Furthermore, it is known to provide a linear strip upon which visible indications of the ends of dictation segments and the location of instructions are printed either by ink, use of heat sensitive paper, or some other means.
More recent developments have provided a plurality of light-emitting segments which are maintained in a lit or unlit state as signals of a particular characteristic are located during a rewind operation. Such diaplays use a linear array of light emitting segments, each of which corresponds to a certain position on the tape in a discrete tape carrier. Conventionally the right-hand side (as the user faces the display) represents the end of the tape and the left-hand side represents the beginning. Regardless of which side of the array represents which end of the tape, these displays have entered the signal from the end of the display which represents the end of tape. When less than all of the tape in a discrete tape carrier has been used for dictation the physical end of the recording tape is reached prior to the end of the array. Therefore, this type of display requires that two steps be carried out by the operator in order to make the information in the display most useful. First the operator must completely rewind the tape in the discrete tape carrier in order to "fill" the display with the information available on the tape as to location of ends of dictation segments and locations of instructions. Secondly, when the physical beginning of the tape is reached the entire contents of the display must be justified (conventionally to the left) in order that the beginning of the physical tape corresponds to the portion of the array which represents the beginning of the tape.
At a dictate station in a dictation recording and transcribing system it has been known to provide a visible indication that a dictate station is operating in a recording mode. It has further been known to provide indicia on a strip of paper or the like which will indicate to the user the length of the dictation segment currently being dictated.